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March 31, 2018

My Style: To Lie or Not To Lie

Happy Easter! With holidays come memories and reminiscing. My childhood memories include vast Easter egg hunts, chocolate bunnies, baskets full of toys, special dinners, and church celebrations. One of my best memories is the Easter Bunny knocking on our front door. We children, including my brother and cousins, would race to answer the door to find huge baskets full of toys, chocolates, and sparkly synthetic grass, always just missing a chance to see the bunny. (My worst memory of Easter is the year I had the flu; I was young and still desperately wanted join in on all the family festivities. I remember trying so hard to enjoy myself and keep up with everyone, but I nearly keeled over. I went to bed shortly after that and didn’t get anyone else sick, thank goodness.)

As we grew older, the holiday’s focus switched from the enigmatic Easter Bunny, who brought frivolous gifts, to Christ who brought forgiveness, love, and life. It was the same with Christmas moving from Santa Claus to the birth of Jesus. I remember the moment I found out Santa wasn’t real and how betrayed I felt; I was bummed that the jolly guy was fictional, but I was mostly shook my parents had lied to me. Looking back now, I can’t help but laugh at how dramatic I was while confronting them. At four years old, I cried and threw myself on their bed for emphasis of heartbreak--like Disney princesses had taught me to do. I’m grateful I got to enjoy believing in the magic while I was younger, but now the holidays are even more meaningful.

Here’s a question: to lie or not to lie to my future children about the Easter Bunny and Santa? Sure, I have plenty of time before I have to answer that, but it is thought provoking. If you have children, did they believe in the Easter Bunny, Santa, and the Tooth Fairy? What are your thoughts on it? How traumatic was it when they found out or was it not a big deal? Let me know in the comments below. Whatever your spiritual beliefs, I wish for you a lovely weekend with family and friends. Xoxo, Shelly

3 comments:

Shelly, great post. I think it's fun for parents to make the holidays magical with Santa Claus & the Easter Bunny. You actually become a little closer with your spouse with the planning & the sneaking around :) Our kids seem to love the make believe and have forgotten the pain of discovery. Best of luck with your decision when you have kids of your own. Love your blog, girl--keep it up.

Shelly, You are so wise to be thinking now about how you will handle this dilema when you have children of your own. When my kids were very young (2 and 3) we participated in the ficticious Santa Claus and Easter Bunny. Then one day, someone shared their experience of how when they were young and discovered they weren't real, they assumed that Jesus was also not real. That really concerned me so we decided that we would no longer encourage this false belief. I admit that through the years I often wondered if I had made a mistake by not allowing them to engage in this fantasy. One day when they were older, I asked them if they wished that I would have made a bigger deal about the Easter Bunny and Santa Clause and they both said no. They did not feel like they missed out and that they actually would have been upset if we allowed them to believe this. I was relieved.We all want the best for our children, however, sometimes it's hard to know if we are making the right decisions.

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